Fall...Welcome Fall!

You've probably heard me say it before but I LOVE AUTUMN! I love the cool, crisp mornings that turn into warm, toasty days then again into cool, quiet evenings. The circle keeps going until the temperatures get so extreme that I start whining that I'm cold all of the time! I quit walking early in the mornings but instead, I sit by the cozy, warm fire. I discuss amongst myself (self-talk??) "do ya wanna go out for a walk now or later?" "Later" usually means I sit by the fire quite a bit longer until I find something else needing to be done. Oh well...it's all good and I still love Autumn!

Here's a fun card I wanted to share. The paper pack is Twitterpated,, X7118B for $12.95 and the tree stamp comes from Four Seasons, B1319 for $13.95. Colors used are Sweet Leaf, Sorbet, and Chocolate. The card pattern came from one of our magical recipe books, Wishes, #9033 for $29.95. If you'd like to order any of these items, just jot down the item numbers and enter them in the Shop Online area of my http://www.laurie.mycth.com/ website. It's all easy ordering over there!

Until next time~

You Are My Sunshine

Do you know the song, You Are My Sunshine? It goes something like this...

You are my sunshine
My only sunshine,
You make me happy
When skies are grey,
You'll never know, dear
How much I love you,
Please don't take
My sunshine away.

It was one of my childhood favorites...I suppose that dates me but who cares! So, whenever I see the word sunshine, it reminds me of this song and brings a smile to my face. The song is stuck in my head so I suppose that means my head is filled with cheerful thoughts! Good thing cuz we all need to fill our hearts and minds with good things.

The stamp set I used for this card is from the September Stamp of the Month, Treasures. I love the designs in the set because many of them bring sweet thoughts to mind. You never grow too old to blow a dandilion or take an extra second to tell someone "thank you." It's never too late to sprinkle a little sunshine on someone by sending a handstamped card or sharing a smile. I'm thinking that this set is quite appropriately named.

The paper pack I used for this cute card is Twitterpated...personally, I think that's such a cute word! (It's fun to say, too.) You can find the paper pack on page 22 of the Fall/Winter Idea Book or on my laurie.myctmh.com website. It's perfect for fall but the theme goes far beyond any particular season. Be sure to check it out in the catalog or enter item # X7118B in the Quick Add search bar on my laurie.myctmh.com website.

Hope you enjoy! Until next time~

The Dash

I was watching a webinar last week and the speaker had a terrific ending to his presentation. He called it "The Dash". My first thought was speed...how far could I run in how short amount of time? After all, isn't that the name of a race in track and field? Oh yeah, in track and field, they insert something like "500 yard"! Not for me...I'm not a runner:) Well anyway, the point he made really hit home with me. You see, "The Dash" in his context referred to the time between being born and dying. What is it that we do with our "dash", that little hyphen between the year born and the year of passing? Have any of us really thought much about it? Seems a bit morbid but I think if I, personally, spent more time considering how to live my own "Dash", I might enjoy a more fulfilled life, rather than living my "Dash" by scurrying here or there and missing many opportunities to touch the life of someone else or be inspired by someone myself. There's lots to it, for sure. So, maybe today you'll want to consider how you're living your own "Dash".

So, last night at one of my monthly workshops, I pulled out this remarkable little tool kit called the new Soft Set Eyelet Tool. People! If you hear one thing while reading this, hear me yelling "this is the most awesome improvement on a product ever!!!" Followed by..."ya gotta have one!" Love the ease with which I can set eyelets now...and it's s..i..l..e..n..t..!! Ah, the hush of setting an eyelet is unlike any other eyelet setting I've done before. Those were always rough, narly, and above, obnoxiously loud! No more...you'll love this one. Item number Z1208 for $14.95. It's the best buy all this year! You can order it on my http://www.laurie.myctmh.com/ website.

Until next time ~ so long!

There's No One Quite Like Me

Here's a fun layout my scrapbook classes have been working on. It carries on the theme of scrapbooking "All About Me" that we've been doing all year. I'll edit the details the first of the week since we're preparing for a baby shower this weekend. Hope you enjoy! See you again soon~

September Stamp of the Month - Treasures

Every year during the Labor Day weekend, the county fair comes to town. Yeah, I love rollercoasters but not the county fair type,unless they're mild - like maybe the Merry-Go-Round. I know, that's not very nice to say but you won't get me on the Zipper flipping upside down and going every which way, spinning the entire time. BUT...put me on California Screamin' at California Adventures and I could ride that thing forever. The best part of our Fair weekend is the Kettle Corn. I'd love to know how to make that myself so I can satisy my cravings for it during the year!


A new month also brings a new Stamp of the Month. This one is just wonderful! You can get it only during September so be sure to place your order by e-mailing me or on my MyCTMH website.

See you next time!

Dry Erase Board Idea

I don't know about you, but I wake up with the best of intentions every day. Do I follow through with each plan for the day...ahhh, I wish it were that easy or I was that disciplined. Sometimes I get ready to accomplish one task yet I find that I get sidetracked. So what?? Oh, I just wait for a new morning when I can, once again, wake up with the best of intentions...only these are from the day before. Eeeek! Suddenly I'm a week behind! So then, it all defaults to "life", and all of the curves we're thrown on a daily basis. For me, I've had more curve balls the last 10 days than I've had in 10 years. But, stretching my ole arm out, I'm catching, by golly. And we're gettin' through.

This cute little frame serves as a reminder for various errands or appointments that come up throughout the day or week. It's a regular 4x6 photo frame but what makes it unique is that you can write on the face of the glass with a dry erase marker. When you're ready to change the message, a swift swipe with your bare fingers will remove all the writing in it entirety! Pretty cool, I think! How do you like the left section where there's a stack of Post-It-Notes? Handy, huh? I thought so when I used this thing over and over this week to remind me to call the insurance folks who don't want to make good on our policy, or to pick certain items up from the store. You could also incorporate a photograph in either the left or right section of the design.

All is good! The sun came up this morning, went down by evening, and we harvested a ton of tomatoes in between. So complaints? Oh, there are none tonight! Praise God.

Until next time~